Intro Dive: A Peek of the Underwater World in Anilao, Batangas

“Wish I could be part of that world…” Who would not want to be like Ariel for a day? The world under the sea definitely has so many stories to tell. I know, somehow. Because I just spent my first few minutes plunging into the waters of Anilao.

Anilao in Batangas is a famous diving destination.

Really, no exaggeration. Anilao is just a few kilometers south of Manila. Its proximity to the metro makes it a favorite destination for weekend diving trips. For the introductory dive that we had, we went at Balai Resort in Anilao, Batangas (Review of Balai Resort soon!).

So what is an Introductory Dive?

I know you’ve been wanting to ask me that question. Well, diving has 5 certification levels that will give you the following titles: open water diver, advance open water diver, rescue diver, master scuba diver and open water scuba instructor. And where is intro dive in those levels? None! Let me explain further.

Introductory dive is a non-certification diving program, a mere peek into what diving is all about. Know that in intro dive you don’t get to control all those gears. A dive master who will accompany you will be the one to do it.

Who should try Introductory Dive?

I highly suggest intro dive to those adventurous people who have no prior diving experience. If you are curious enough but don’t know what to expect, intro dive is a great starting point to get a feel of what diving is all about. From there, you can better decide whether to pursue diving certifications or not.

Swim Central’s Introductory Dive

If at this point you already wanted to try diving, Swim Central is there to the rescue. Swim Central is a swim school offering not just swimming lessons but also day-trip diving package for around PHP3K inclusive of transportation, resort’s admission fee and buffet lunch. Amazing, right?

Do you need to know how to swim to try diving?

No, not really.

What do I need to bring?

Complete diving equipment is provided, no need to worry about anything.

What do I need to wear?

Typical swimming attire can be worn. Rash guard is also recommended. If you have a diving suit, go wear it and feel like a dive master! And oh, it’s also a good idea to wear aquatic shoes or dive booties.

Anything we need to know?

Before the dive proper, a briefing was conducted by our dive master. Though he will be the one controlling the gears, he described to us how each diving gear is properly used.

What else do we need to know? Ahh, diving hand signals.

Aside from the gears, our dive master also discussed to us important hand signals that we need to be able to communicate with him under the water.

Is that all we really need to know?

Wait! Read on because there were more crucial things instructed to us. And believe me, it can make or break your first ever dive!

How do we breathe under the water?

Good question. Yes, we were taught how to breathe with the regulator. Our dive master let us practiced until we were comfortable using the regulator. Remember, inhale and exhale only through the regulator using your mouth.

In case the regulator slipped out of your mouth, just put it back and the first thing you need to do once you had it back is to exhale or blow through it. This will remove the water that penetrated your regulator (you don’t want to be drinking all the water in the sea, right?).

How to remove the water that got into the mask?

If for any reason, water got inside your mask, look up, press on your mask and exhale through your nose.

How to deal with the pressure under the water?

Remember when you rode that plane and your ears ached so much because of the pressure? The pressure when you’re up there in the clouds is actually the same when you are under the water.

How do we equalize the pressure in our ears? Just pinch your nose and exhale through your pinched nose. You should feel some sort of popping from your ears.

Even if you can tolerate the pain, our dive master suggested that you equalize because not doing so may damage your ears.

So how was the dive?

Fantastic and therapeutic. Spending roughly around 30 minutes 30 feet under the sea is one of the most unforgettable moments in my life.

Mommy Queenelizabeth

March 1, 2016

This is very timely! I am actually planning a summer escape with my mommy friends from manila and i invited them to come here in Batangas! Anilao is just a 30 minutes drive from my place! And we were planning to do that intro dive! This is so exciting! Would you mind telling me how much did u spend all in all for the equipment rents and the intro lesson?How long does it take? Do they have a package including food and entrance fees? I was about to inquire at PADI here in Anilao until i saw this post, so i deferred it before anything else. Thank you in advance! 🙂

Arrianne Guzman

March 1, 2016

Fee is around PHP3500, inclusive of transpo from manila, resort entrance fee and buffet lunch. Lesson/briefing and gears also included, underwater photos and videos as well. Around 20-30 minutes per participant. You can inquire in their FB page, Swim Central 🙂

bluedreamer27

March 1, 2016

this is really cool and I guess very ideal for someone like me who do not know how to swim nor to dive! Knowing that you will be accompanied by a diver, i guess I can somehow conquer my fear! I easily freak out whenever I see something moving on the water kasi haha
Are the underwater photos and videos included in the package too? No need for waterproof cameras?

Arrianne Guzman

Louise

March 1, 2016

Anilao is just a few minutes away from our home in Bauan and as much as I want to try diving, I can’t since I’m asthmatic. 🙁 But posts such as this makes me satisfied na. I feel like I got to dive too… virtually. Hehe.

Paolo

Marge Gavan

March 2, 2016

Wow you changed the name of you blog, cool! I think it perfectly fits the niche of your blog, although I must admit I didn’t get the “habeat” immediately hahaha… I even read it as “ha-bi-yat,” so I was like, what the hell does it mean? Hahaha… sorry, a bit slow.

Anyway, I think I wanna try intro diving. I think I can certainly do that. And for only 3,000, I say that’s not a bad deal at all. Scuba diving can be real expensive you know. Okay I am going to invest on aquatic shoes and rash guard so I can give this a try!

Jennifer Villanueva

Carlo Andrew Olano

March 2, 2016

I never tried diving and your post made me more curious about it. Since you were able to do it, I am most likely going to try it this summer. Thank you so much for making me realize that it is not that hard.

Ann Balisbis

March 2, 2016

I don’t know how to swim that is why I’m not keen in trying this kind of activity. However, at the back of my mind, I wanna try this because I’m one adventurous person. And since you will be accompanied by a professional on this one, there’s a sigh of relief for me because finally there’s a possibility that I can try this! Thanks for the info 🙂

LEAVE A COMMENT

Hello! I’m Arrianne and I’m from Manila. I'm a full-time corporate junkie on weekdays and a part-time wanderer in between. Travel Habeat is my passion project, an extensive array of gastronomic adventures mainly from the Philippines, Asia, and hopefully in the near future, the rest of the world. Enchanté!

The contents of this blog solely reflect the pieces of experience and personal views of the author. It does not represent any organization the author is related to. It also does not represent any company or institution mentioned in the articles and the author has no business connection with any of them. Although this blog may provide links to other Internet resources, the author is not responsible for the information written in these sites.